The East Plano Islamic Center and developer that are planning to build a community about 40 miles northeast of Dallas have hired a high-profile attorney to represent them. This– after Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton announced they’re launching multiple investigations into the mosque and developer.
The East Plano Islamic Center, EPIC, and developers of the proposed EPIC City master-planned community have retained a high-profile Texas attorney to represent them after Gov. Greg Abbott launched multiple state investigations.
Over the past week, there's been fallout from some state leaders and people in the community in opposition to EPIC City, which is 402 acres proposed to house more than 1,000 homes, a K-12 school, sports complex, senior living, and stores with a mosque at the center.
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WATCH HEREIt's located in both Collin and Hunt Counties in Josephine, TX, about 40 miles northeast of Dallas.
The group's attorney said he believes his clients are being targeted due to their faith.
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SIGN UP "EPIC City is a thoughtful community designed for families, just like hundreds of others in Texas. The only reason it is being unfairly targeted is because there is a mosque in the plans instead of a church or a temple. That’s it,” said their attorney, Dan Cogdell. “This is fearmongering and political theater, and we intend to shut it down with the truth.”
Cogdell, a defense attorney and Principal & Founder of Cogdell Law Firm based in Houston, is known for his high-profile cases. Most recently, he represented Attorney General Ken Paxton in his 2023 impeachment trial, which he was acquitted. Some of Cogdell's other historic trials include the Branch Davidian Trial and Enron Trial, in which he won acquittals in both cases.
During a news conference on Thursday with reporters, Cogdell said he believes his clients are "suffering from essentially gubernatorial hate speech" and are "getting death threats" after multiple posts on the social media platform X from the governor.
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"What's happened, primarily from Governor Abbott's office, is hate speech. I'm ashamed. I'm ashamed of the falsehoods that Abbott's office has been putting out. It's nonsense," said Cogdell. “For him to call this a compound is an outright lie, and it's an insult, and it's doing nothing but try to demonize faithful, religious, honest, hard-working people. I'm ashamed that he's gone that far."
The EPIC City received a lot of attention from some users on social media after a YouTube video from the mosque and developers describing the community.
The offices of Abbott and Paxton caught wind of the master-planned community in the works and announced they're investigating whether the proposed project is following the law.
Earlier this week, Abbott's office sent out a list of investigations EPIC, which is one of the largest mosques in North Texas, and Community Capital Partners (CCP), the developers of the community, are facing.
- Texas Rangers are investigating EPIC and affiliated entities for potential criminal activities
- Texas Workforce Commission is investigating EPIC and affiliated entities for potential discrimination in violation of the Texas Fair Housing Act
- Texas State Securities Board is investigating EPIC and affiliated entities for potential financial harm to Texans
- Texas Funeral Service Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter ordering EPIC to immediately stop all illegal funeral service operations
- Attorney General of Texas is investigating EPIC and affiliated entities for potential violations of Texas consumer protection laws
In response to a Tweet from the governor stating he would prevent foreign adversaries from buying prosperities, Cogdell said, "These aren't foreign adversaries, these are Texans, Americans, these are United States citizens."
Their attorney said his clients haven't applied for permits yet and the plans are still in the early phases.
"Spoiler alert, they haven't started construction. They haven't even applied for the permits for him to say, 'Stop it, or the full weight of the law will come down on you.' Is just utter nonsense. It's insane," said Cogdell.
CCP was created by several members of EPIC with the vision to build a large community. Since the idea went people, the first phase, with 500 lots, sold out in less than 6 months.
"They have hired some of the best firms in the state, if not the country, to help them comply with what they're building. All they want to do is to build a community that allows them to live together with people who value family and faith. They intend to follow all the laws from the Fair Housing Standards Act and the zoning laws," said Cogdell about his clients.
"My clients are law-abiding Texans, law-abiding Americans and law-abiding Muslims," said Cogdell.
On Monday during a public hearing in front of Collin County Commissioners regarding the EPIC City plans, which happened to coincide with the investigation announcement from the state, an overflow of people showed up to express their concerns.
Some referenced the difference of faith, others talked about water supply, and some expressed worry over housing discrimination.
“The vision for EPIC City is simple. We want to build an inclusive community, one in which people of every background, faith, and culture can live together in harmony,” said Imran Chaudhary, President of Community Capital Partners, in a statement.
Thursday morning, Cogdell echoed the same thing.
"I would expect the majority of the people that live there are going to be Muslim community, because it's they're going to have a mosque there, not too many Christians go to a mosque. We expect that the vast majority of the folks that will end up living there will be Muslims, but it's open to anyone. Anybody can live there. I talked with my clients the other day, but I'll get (buy) a lot. It looks pretty cool to me," said Cogdell.
He said as of now, they haven't received any formal allegations and hope there won't be any.
"I extend an open invitation to Governor Abbott, to the Texas Rangers, to the Texas State Securities board, the Attorney General's office, or anyone else that wants to investigate us. Call me. We have an open invitation. You want to interview my clients, call me. I'll set it up. You want to look at books and records? Call me, I'll set it up. You want to come tour the property, call me, I'll set it up. You want to come to the mosque, call me, I'll set it up, but quite Tweeting lies, false information and nonsense," expressed Cogdell.
According to their attorney, members from the mosque and the developer have received death threats, with people posting their addresses online.
"They're afraid for their lives because of the falsehood that the governor's office has started. That's nonsense. That's not Texan, that's not American, that's nonsense, and it needs to stop, and it needs to stop now!" expressed Cogdell. “The only thing that makes sense to me as to why they're doing is, is it panders to a far right base that's not based in any reality or fact."
Thursday afternoon, EPIC posted its own press release on Facebook, stating, "We are proud Texans, American, and Muslims. We believe in the U.S. Constitution, the freedom of religion it protects and the laws of this land - and we follow them with sincerity and care. We abide by state and federal laws and have nothing to hide."
The group said they've seen an increase in hate since Monday's public hearing and regularly receiving calls and death threats.
"Our mosque leaders' personal home addresses have been shared, jeopardizing the safety of families. Due to the hateful attacks and a cease and desist letter by the Texas Funeral Service Commission, we have stopped funeral prayers for our loved ones," said the statement.
The EPIC City is operated by CCP, a for-profit company, which is separate from EPIC, the mosque, which is a registered nonprofit.
